Foot construction of full-fashioned hosiery



Dec. 28, 1943. H. HEMMERICH 2,338,075

FOOT CONSTRUCTION OF FULL-FASHIONED HOSIERY Filed March 13, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 1 F.LE5--l- FLEPQEJ;

INVENTOR: fiufz vo Hemmerwh,

Dec. 28,- 1943. H. HEMMERICH 2,338,075

FOOT CONSTRUCTION OF FULL-FASHIONED HOSIERY Filed March 13, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Firs-f5;

F- -E-AL I 3C :(C 3C :(C

INVENTOR! H 0 Hemmgriciz,

Q 1943- H. HEMMERICH 2,338,075

FOOT CONSTRUCTION OF FULL-FASHIONED HOSIERY Filed March'13, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Fla-j- Fla--5;-

INVENTOR: Hugo Hemmeriah,

h hw yy yx Dec. 28, 1943. H. HEMMERICH Patented Dec. 28, 1943 FOOTCONSTRUCTION or FULL-FASHIONED nosmmz Hugo Hemmerich. Reinholds. Pa.,assignor to Berkshire Knitting Mills. Wyomissing, Pa... a corporation ofPennsylvania Application March 13, 1941, Serial No. 383,105

7 Claims.

This invention relates to full-fashioned hosiery, and more particularlyto single unit full-fashioned hosiery and to an improved footconstruction therefor.

When producing a'conventional full-fashioned hosiery blank in accordancewith the well known two-machine method, the leg portion is knitted on alegger machine and is then transferred to the needles of a footermachine for the knitting of the foot portion thereto. Full-fashionedhosiery which is produced on separate le ger and footer machinesincludes a distinct line of termination, generally referred to as a"change row, or "heel suture line," which forms a line of juncturebetween each heel tab and the SOle portion. In the finished stocking,this line of juncture forms the boundary line of a reinforced heelpocket structure which is shaped to snugly fit the heel of the wearer soas to prevent slippage or displacement thereof and which serves toanchor the stocking at this point. In conventional hosiery, this snuglyfitting heel pocket comprises the separate reinforced heel tabs whichextend around opposite sides of the heel and meet in a connecting linecentrally at the bottom and back of the heel. Such heel pockets are alsopresent in full-fashioned hosiery produced on combination legger-footerand heeler machines.

In the manufacture of so-called "single unit stockings" in which thecomplete stocking blanks are formed on a single knitting machine, and inwhich the sole portions are knit as direct walewise continuations ofwidened heel portions, no heel suture line is formed. Since the referredto change row or heel suture line has heretofore served as a means ofidentifying full-fashioned hosiery, it will be realized that itsomission from single unit hosiery has a tendency to confuse purchasersinto believing that such hosiery ,is not fully fashioned. Furthermore,the absence of a reinforced heel pocket construction in such hesierycorresponding with that found in hosiery produced by the multi-machinemethods, heretofore seriously affected their comparative rank in thehosiery market.

It is an object of my invention to provide a single unit stocking withan improved heel construction which overcomes the aforesaiddifllculties, and results in a heel cup which in appearance,construction and function is substantially the same as that heretoforeonly obtainable in and sole portions of single unit full-fashionedstockings substantially corresponding in length and position to the heelsuture line of conventional full-fashioned hosiery made. on separatemachines, as on legger and footer machines, or on combinationlegger-footer and heeler machines.

Among further objects of my invention are to provide a single unitfull-fashioned hosiery foot construction comprising heel and sole areasof different densities arranged to effect a line of terminationtherebetween; to accentuate the appearance of such line of terminationas by modifying the construction of certain loops defining such lineand/or by increasing the density of such line over that of the remainingheel and sole areas.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the illustrative embodiments of myimproved single unit full-fashioned hosiery construction disclosed inthe accompanying drawings,

my invention resides in the novel fabrics, hosiery and the method ofproducing the same as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In th drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a full-fashioned stocking embodying myinvention;

Fig.- 2 illustrates a full-fashioned stocking blank from which thestocking of Fig. 1 is produced;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing the structure of the fabric withinthe dot-and-dash rectangle A of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5, 6, '7 and 8 show different heel constructions of single unitstockings produced in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the structure-of the fabricwithin the dot-and-dash rectangle B of Fig. 5;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the structure of the fabricwithin the dot-and-dash rectangle C of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10, showing a modification of thefabric structure of Fig. 10.

In the different forms of the invention herein disclosed, unlessotherwise indicated, corresponding parts of the various embodiments aresimilarly constructed in part and are accordingly identified by similarreference characters.

Referring more paricularly to Figs. 1-4 of the drawings, a typicalembodiment of my invention stocking blank 2 I.

is there shown in the form of a single unit fullfashioned stockin 2D.This stocking is made from a blank 2| which includes a folded welt 22, aleg portion 23, and a foot portion 24, all of which parts are knitted asdirect walewise continuations of each other in the sequence set forthonone and the same single unit full-fashioned knitting machine. Kneenarrowlngs 25, leg narrowings 26, heel narrowings 21 and toe narrow ings28 are provided in the stocking 20 to fashion it to the shape of the legof the wearer, whereas the fabric is widened by progressively increasingthe length of coursewise travel of the yarn carriers between thewalewise spaced points 29 and 30 in heel portions 39 to further fashionthe stocking to the width needed in this region of the stocking.Reinforcing of the heel 39, sole 38 and toe portions 45 of such afull-fashioned stock ing is usually effected by feeding a mainreinforcing yarn or thread 36 across these entire portions in additionto the body yarn 31, in turn fed across the entire width of the stockingbetween the selvedges 32. Up to this point, the procedure followed is inaccordance with the present known practice of knitting a full length sinle unit or other full-fashioned stocking.

To effect a line of termination in such Single unit hosiery inaccordance with my invention, so as to simulate the heel suture line ofhosiery produced either on two separate machines, such as on legger andfooter machines, or on combination legger-footer and heeler machines, anadditional reinforcing yarn is utilized throughout an area 40 of theheel 39 during the knitting of the This triple thread area 40 is formedby beginning at the course 44 and progressively varying the distancetravelled by the additional reinforcing yarn, as from the selvedge 32 to:the boundary defined by the stepped lines 42 and.43, Figs. 1, 2 and 3.The upper stepped boundary line 42 of the portion 40 is preferablysoarranged. that it parallels the adjacent portion of the steppedboundary line 33 of the heel 39,-whereas a simulated heel suture line43, which marks the lower boundary of both the heel 39, and the area 40thereof, is substantially parallel to the selvedge edge 32 of the upperportion of the heel 39, and is angularly arranged with respect to theinner boundary line 35 of the sole portion 38, diverging from the upperstepped line 42 so as to extend into the selvedge 32 of the fabric inthe manner best illustrated in Fig. 3.

Stroke limiting means for the reinforcing carriers to progressively varythe distance which .the reinforcing yarns are fed from the selvedge edgeof the blank, as indicated by stepped lines 42 and 43 shown in Fig. 2,may be effected by usual mechanism of a. full-fashioned knittingmachine, such as the wellknown reinforced selvedge attachment shown anddescribed in The Reading Full-Fashioned Knitting Machine PartsCatalog-published and copyrightedby the Textile Machine Works in 1929,1935 and 1940, respectively.

The structure which effects the line of termination 43, is illustratedon a greatly enlarged scale in Fig. 4. As there shown, the body yarn orthread 31 which is used to form the main body of the fabric, includingthe instep 34, is also used in forming the loops of the sole portion 38and the heel area 40, being fed from selvedge to selvedge therebypassing across the line of termination 43 and beyond the heel narrowings21 to the selvedge 32 of the fabric. The main reinforcing yarn or thread36 is combined with body yarn 31 from the line 35 across the soleportion 38 to the selvedge of the fabric to form a double or two-plyyarn area; whereas, another reinforcing yarn 46 is combined with thebody yarn 3i and the main reinforcing yarn 36 from\ the stepped lines 42and 43 to the selvedge 32 to effect a triple or three-ply yarn structurethroughout the area 49 of the heel 39. The inner termination of theextra or second reinforcing yarn 46 along the stepped lines 42 and 43marks the inner boundary of the three-ply or triple yarn reinforcedportion 40 of the heel 39, and it is the contrasting appearance of thetriple yarn reinforced portion 40 relative to the double yarn reinforcedsole portion 38 resulting from the rela-- tively different densitiesthereof which effects the line 43 which is substantially parallel to theselvedge edge 32 of the upper portion of the heel. It is this line oftermination 43 between the heel and sole areas which simulates thechange row or heel suture line of conventional full-fashioned hosiery.

In the modifications of the invention shown in Figs. 5-11, the extrayarn reinforcement of the structure shown in Figs. 1-4 is also employedto effect a line of termination simulating the change row or heel sutureline of two-machine stockings, the heel structures of Figs. *7 and 8illustrating this simulated heel suture line in different contours whichmay be desired in order to impart a slenderizing or other desired effectto the ankle of the wearer; an inwardly curved simulated heel sutureline or change row 48 (Fig. 7) and an outwardly curved simulated heelsuture line, or change row 49 (Fig. 8), being illustrated asmodifications of the row 43 shown in Figs. 1-4.

In addition to the triple of three-ply yarn reinforcecl heelconstructions of Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, the heel constructions ofFigs. 5, 6, 9, l0 and 11 have additional features associated therewithvto further accentuate the appearance of the lines of termination or thesimulated heel suture lines thereof which substantially correspond inlength and position to the heel suture lines of conventionalfull-fashioned hosiery.

In the heel construction shown in Figs. 5 and 9 an additionalreinforcing yarn 50 is employed to reinforce a narrow strip between thelower boundary of the area 40 and the sole portion 38, This narrowfour-yarn strip or area 52 is defined by stepped rows or lines 53 and 54which are substantially parallel to the upper selvedge 32 of the heel 39and which respectively define the front and back boundary lines of saidarea. The lines 54 and 42 mark the front boundary line of the triplethread area 40. The strip 52 has a contrasting appearance relative tothe sole 38 and the remainder of the area 40, which in turn haveaconstrasting appearance relative to each other, and thereby effects aline of termination between the heel. and sole areas.

In the heel construction shown in Figs. 6, 10, and 11, openwork areas 56are produced by modifying the structure of certain loops to provideother than plain loops in the line of termination or simulated heelsuture line 55 (Fig. 6). Transferred loops, 51 (Fig. 10) and spread ornon-run loops 58 (Fig. 11), are among the forms of loops adapted tofurther accenuate the prominence of the line of termination between theheel and sole areas of single unit stockings effected by areas ofcontrasting appearance. The heel and sole portions of this construction,as in the previously assao'rs 3 described forms of the invention, have acontrasting appearance relative to each other which effects the line oftermination 55 which is substantially parallel with the upper selvedgeedge of the heel area.

As more particularly illustrated by Fig. 4, the heel narrowings 21,which are formed following the widening of the stocking from point 29 topoint 30 to fashion the heel to the desired contour, are shown as beingof a two-needle construction although other known forms of narrowing,such as single needle narrowing, may be employed to effect the necessaryfashioning in this area.

Having knitted a stocking blank in conventional manner to the heelsection, and having completed one or the other of the described heelsections in accordance with my invention, knitting of the foot portionof the stocking is continued and accomplished in the known conventionalmanner followed in the practice of producing single unit and other formsof full-fashioned hosiery.

Although the invention is illustrated in connection with a ladys fulllength single unit fullfashioned stocking having full length welt andleg portions, my improvements are, of course, also adapted to othertypes of single unit hosiery,

such for example, as ladies knee'length hosiery,'

men's socks, etc.

It is, of course, to be understood that the im provernents shown anddescribed, by which I obtain the desired results, can be changed andmodified in various ways withoutdeparting from the invention hereindisclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a single unit full-fashioned hosiery blank, a foot constructioncomprising reinforced heel and sole portions of relatively differentdensities arranged to provide a contrasting appearance therebetween, andan additional reinforcement defining the boundary line between said heeland sole portions.

2. A method of manufacturing a full-fashioned hosiery blank, comprisingforming the blank to the heel areas in conventional manner, knittingreinforced heel and sole areas as direct walewise continuations of eachother, feeding an additional reinforcing yarn during the formation ofpart of each heel area and feeding each such reinforcing yarn toterminate in a line substantially parallel to the upper selvedge edge ofthe respective reinforced heel area, feeding still another reinforcingyarn during the formation of each heel area to reinforce the loopsdefining said line, and completing the blank in conventional manner.

3. A flat knitted stocking blank composed essentially of yarnsinterengaged in transverse courses of stitches and parallel stitch walesand comprising a body portion, foot-sole portions of heavier yarn weightthan said body portion, and heel portions of heavier yarn weight thansaid foot-sole portions and having widening and narrowing selvages, theyarns knitted to effect a line of division at an angle to the wales andcourses between each foot-sole and adjacent heel portions extending tothe edge of the blank at a point near the lower end of said narrowingselvage,

4. A method of manufacturing a full-fashioned hosiery blank free ofstitches to be looped comprising forming the blank to the heel areas inconventional manner essentially of successively 'lines of divisionbetween the heel and sole areas beginningat points near the lower endsof said narrowing selvages and running upwardly-and inwardly therefromat angles to the wales and courses.

5. A single-unit stocking formed from a flat knit full-fashioned blankincluding a leg portion and a foot portion and comprising a centralinstep portion projecting into the foot portion from the leg portion, atoe portion between the lower transverse edge of the instep and atransverse terminal edge of the blank, a heel portion between eachlongitudinal edge of the instep and one of the longitudinal marginaledges of the blank where the leg and foot portions join, and a foot soleportion at each side of the blank between said longitudinal edges of theblank and said iongitudinal edges of said instep and extending from saidtoe to said heel portions, said blank comprising successively interknittransverse courses of stitches and parallel longitudinal stitch wales,said heel portions having parts thereof extending beyond thelongitudinal edges of said leg and foot portions and composed of stitchwales of varying lengths added to said longitudinal edges of the blank,said added wales formed by courses which are first progressivelylengthened and then progressively shortened in the direction from weltto toe while the progressively shortened courses have closed selvagesand include narrowing fashion marks causing a rounded heel in thefinished stocking, said leg and instep portions being composed of afabric of one predetermined yarn-weight, said heel portions comprisingfabric of a relatively heavier yarn-we ght and said foot sole portionscomprising fabric of an intermediate yarn-weight, with the lines ofdivision between said heel portions and the respectively adjacent footsole portions each extending at an angle to said wales and coursessubstantially from said longitudinal edges of said instep portion tosaid longitud nal edges of the blank.

6. A single unit-full-fashioned stocking formed from a blank including aleg portion and a footportion and comprising a central instep portionprojecting into the foot portion from the leg portion, a toe portionbetween the lower transverse ed e of the instep and a transverseterminal edge of the blank, a heel portion between each longitudinaledge of the instep and one of the longitudinal marginal edges of theblank where the leg and foot portions join, and a foot sole portion ateach side of the blank between said longitudinal edges of the blank andsaid longitudinal edges of said instep and extending from said toe tosaid heel portions, said blank comprising successively interknittransverse courses of stitches and parallel longitudinal stitch wales,said heel portions having parts thereof extending beyond thelongitudinal edges of said leg and foot portions and composed of stitchwales of varying lengths added to said longitudinal edges of the blank,said added wales formed by courses which are first progressivelylengthened and then progressively shortened in the direction from weltto toe while the progressively shortened courses have closed selvagesand include narrowing fashion marks causing a rounded heel in thefinished stocking, said leg and instep portions being composed'of afabric of one predetermined yarn-weight, said heel portions comprisinguniform integral fabric of a relatively heavier yarn-weight and saidfoot-sole portions comprising-fabric of an intermediate yarnweight, withthe yarns arranged to effect lines of division between said heelportions and the respectively adjacent root-sole portions extending atan angle to the wales and courses from the longitudinal edges of theblank at points near the lower ends of said heel portions toward saidlongitudinal edges of the instep portion.

7. In a knitted single unit full-fashioned hosiery blank, a footconstruction comprising heel and sole areas relatively of differentdensities, the juncture of said areas arranged to efiect a line oftermination therebeween substantially corresponding in length andposition to the heel suture line of the conventional fu1lfashionedhosiery blank, said heel areas having parts thereof extending beyond thelongitudinal edges of the foot portion and-composed of stitch wales ofvarying lengths added to the longitudinal edges of the blank, said addedwales formed of courses which are first progressively lengthened andthen progressively shortened in the direction of knitting while theprogressively shortened courses have closed selvedges and includefashion marks causing a rounded heel in the finished stocking.

HUGO HEMMERICH.

